Apparatus for splicing cables containing pairs of conductors

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for electrically connecting corresponding wires of two pairs of wires to each other comprises an indexible shaft having means at each end for receiving a pair of wires and trimming means intermediate its ends for trimming the wire ends. A dualconnector device is supported in parallel-spaced relationship to the shaft and in a position to receive the trimmed wires. Means are provided on each side of the trimming means for separating the wires of the pairs and subsequently pushing them into the connector device. The connector device comprises two side-by-side separate connectors which are insulated from each other and which are held in a single insulating sheath.

United States Patent 3,328,872 7 7/l967 Reem et al Grey Manning Gurley inventor Clearwater, Fla. Appl. No. 807,300 Filed Mar. 14, 1969 Patented July 20, 1971 Assignee A.M.P. Incorporated Harrisburg, Pa.

APPARATUS FOR SPLICING CABLES CONTAINING PAIRS 0F CONDUCTORS 3,431,621 3/1969 Gurleyetal............. 3,436,820 4/1969 Reemetal ABSTRACT: Apparatus for electrically connecting corresponding wires of two pairs of wires to each other comprises an indexible shaft having means at each end for receiving a pair of wires and trimming means intermediate its ends for trimming the wire ends. A dual-connector device is supported in parallel-spaced relationship to the shaft and in a position to receive the trimmed wires. Means are provided on each side of the trimming means for separating the wires of the pairs and subsequently pushing them into the connector device. The connector device comprises two side-by-side separate connectors which are insulated from each other and which are held in a single insulating sheath.

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PATENTEU JUL20 [an SHEET 11 [1F 14 APPARATUS FOR SPLICING CABLES CONTAINING PAIRS OF CONDUCTORS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for connecting conductors, such as the wires in a communication cable, to each other. The disclosed embodiment of the invention is particularly intended to electrically connect conductors in the ends of two telephone cable sections and the invention is accordingly described with reference to the splicing of telephone cables. However, it will be understood that the principles of the invention can be used under a wide variety of circumstances other than those disclosed in the following specification. 7

The conductors commonly used for the transmission of telephone messages are conventionally contained in cables, each cable comprising a multiplicity. of twisted pairs of wires surrounded by a protective sheath containing a layer of rubberlike material and possibly layers of arrnoring or protecting materials. The wires of each pair of wires may constitute an individual circuit, one wire of the pair functioning as a signal conductor and the other wire functioning as a ringing conductor (i.e. ring and tip conductors in telephone parlance). The wires of each pair are usually intertwined or twisted together for purposes of identification and to prevent crosstalk between adjacent pairs, and referred to as a twisted pair.

The largest cable presently manufactured contains about 2700 twisted pairs of wiresor 5,400 individual wires. Cables of this type are made in lengths of about 800 feet, the maximum length which can be conveniently handled when a new telephone cable is being installed, so that whenever acable is installed between two points, it is necessary to splice the cable ends, that is, to connect with individual electrical connections all of the 5,400 conductors in the end of one cable section to the equal number of conductors in the adjacent cable section. It can be appreciated that cable splicing operations, which must be carried out in a manhole or on a utility pole, aretedious and time consuming and constitute a large percentage of the labor required to install a cable between two locations. Cable-splicing operations must also be carried out whenever a cable is damaged accidentally or as a result of a natural calamity such as a hurricane. Under such circumstances, it is essential that the damaged cable to be respliced in as short a time as possible in order to restoretelephone service.

It is in general an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for connecting wires to each other which results in the achievement of a high-quality electrical connection in a minimum of time. A more specific object is to provide improved apparatus for electrically connecting corresponding wires of two associated pairs of wires to each other in a single operation.

These and other objects of the invention are achievedin a preferred apparatus embodiment thereof comprising an indexible shaft having four sets of mechanisms mounted thereon for holding or retaining two twisted pairs of wires, for separating the two wires of each pair, and for forcing or stuffing the wires of each pair into an electrical connector. A cutting or trimming means is mounted on the shaft midway between the ends thereof and between the aligned sets of holding and stuffing means. The arrangement is such that the operator need only select. pairs of wires from the cable ends, position the pairs in the holding means at each end of the shaft, and lace the wires of the pairs through the center portion of the tool. The connector is supported adjacent to the wires being connected in a location such' that immediately after the trimming operation, and upon actuation of the stuffing means, the four wires of the two pairs are inserted into the connector.

- In the drawing:

FIG. I is a perspective view showing the ends of two cable sections which are being spliced and showing the manner in which a connecting apparatus in accordance with the invention is mounted adjacent to the cable sections.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a connecting apparatus in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an assembly contained in the housing of FIG. 2 and comprising the various wire-holding, wire-stuffing, wire-separating assemblies mounted on the indexible shaft in the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of one side, the lefthand side, of the assembly of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional front view of the apparatus of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the shaft of the apparatus.

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are views taken along the lines 7-7, 8-8, and 9-9 of FIG. 5; these views showing the positions of the parts at the beginning of the operating cycle while FIGS. 8A, 83, 9A, and 9B show the positions of the parts at intermediate stages of the cycle.

FIG. 10 is a perspective exploded view of a wire-splitting I and wire-stuffing subassembly constituting part of the assembly of FIG. 3.

FIGS. ll, l2, l3, l4, and 15 are fragmentary views looking in the direction of arrows l 14 I of FIG. 8 and illustrating the wire-severing, pair-splitting, and wire-inserting or stuffing operations.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of two twisted pairs of wires electrically connected to each other by a connecting device in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective exploded view illustrating the manufacture of connecting devices in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 18 and I9 are sectional side views of connecting devices in accordance with the invention illustrating the manner in which the wires are inserted or stuffed into theconnector.

FIG. 20 is a descriptive timing diagram which sets forth the movement of the parts of the disclosed embodiment of the invention.

Referring first to FIG. 1, in a typical cable-splicing operation, the ends of the cable section 8, 10 will be located adjacent to each other and the cable-splicing apparatus 2'will be located between the ends of the cable sections in position convenient to the wires being connected. Each cable section 8, 10, contains a multiplicity of twisted pairs of wires. The splicer will usually bend most of the pairs rearwardly over the cable sections as shown at 12, 14 and tie them to the surface of the cable with a strip of tape. He can then withdraw individual wire pairs 4, 6, from the bundles and lace themv into the apparatus 2. The apparatus in accordance with the invention 2 may be supported on a support rod 16 which extends parallel to the axis of the cables and which is held at its ends by suitable brackets 18 extending from clamps which surround the cables. It will be understood that a cable splicing operation as illustrated in FIG. l may be carried out in a manhole or on a platform on a utility pole in the case of an aerial cable. The splicer will ordinarily be seated in front of the apparatus 2 so that he can withdraw individual pairs from the bundles 12, I4 and position them in the apparatus.

As shown best in FIG. 16-19, a connector device 28 in accordance with the invention comprises two metallic connector members 30, 32 each of which has a web portion 36 the edges of which are turned up at 38 for strengthening purposes. Pairs of ears 40 are provided at each end of the web 36 and have inwardly directed ends 42 so that the edges of these ends face each other on opposite sides of the central axis of the connector. These opposed edges are serrated as shown at 44 and are spaced apart by a distance somewhat less than the diameter of the conducting core of the wires being connected so that as a wire is forced downwardly between an opposed pair of edges, the insulation of the wires will be penetrated and electrical contact will be established with the core as shown in FIG. 19. It should also be noted that the upper edges 43 of the portions 42 of the ears slope downwardly and inwardly towards the axis of the connector. This slope facilitates the insertion of the wire in that the forces imposed on a set of cars by a wire are divided into two components, one of which is horizontal as viewed in FIG. 8 and tends to spread the ears apart. The other force component is vertical and results in penetration of the insulation.

The insulation of-the connecting device 28 may be manufactured in the form of a continuous extrusion 46 which is later cut to the appropriate length to receive a pair of metallic connectors 30, 32. Each section 34 of insulating housing comprises a base 48, sidewalls 50, and a center rib 52, these sidewalls and the center rib defining two parallel passageways, each of which is adapted to receive one of the metallic connecting members 30, 32, snugly. Triangular extensions 54, 56 extend from the sidewalls and from the center rib 52 and the ends of these extensions abut each other as shown at 58 above the slots in the metallic connector members. The properties of the material are such that these slits 58 are normally closed as shown in FIG. 17 although the adjacent sides of the triangular extensions can be pushed apart and the slits opened when wires are forced through the slits and into the slots in the metallic connector members. The insertion or stuffing of the wires is achieved by means of stuffing tools 60, 62 which con stitute part of the disclosed apparatus embodiment of the invention and willbe described below.

In a completed electrical connection between two pairs of wires, 4,6, the wire 20 of the pair 4 willbe electrically connected to the wire 24 of the pair 6 and the wire 22 of the pair 4 will be connected to the wire 26 of the pair 6. The two connections between the wires are thus held physically together although they are electrically separate by virtue of the center rib 52 of the connecting device. It will be understood that the dual-connecting device 28, shown in FIGS. 16, 19, is particularly intended for connecting associated pairs of wires and that a single connecting device, adapted to connect only two wires to each other, can be provided if desired.

Connector members of the type shown at 30, 32 fall into the general category of connecting members and terminals in which the electrical connection between the wire and the connecting member is established by forcing the wire into a slot in the connecting member. Examples of prior art terminals of this type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,012,219, 3,234,498 and 3,320,354. Connector members 30, 32 in accordance with .the instant invention offer substantial advantages over the prior art types of slot-type connectors for reasons discussed immediately below.

When a wire is forced downwardly between a pair of the ears 40, the earswill be moved outwardly or apart with accompanying deflection of the base or neck portions 41 of the cars. If desired, the inwardly directed sides 42 of the ears can also be designed to deflect resiliently when the wire is inserted. The ears thus function as bow springs which are flexed apart upon reception of the wire. The ears and the web of the connector member are capable of undergoing substantial deflection without the development of excessive unit stresses in the ear neck portions, or elsewhere in the connector, which exceed the elastic limit of the metal from which the connector member is formed. Furthermore, when a specific connector ,design is developed, the designer can obtain a predetermined contact force on the inserted wire by virtue of the fact that he can vary several variable factors (such as stock thickness, stock temper, width of the neck portions 4l,,,width of the gap between the edges 44) which are under his control.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 5, a preferred form of apparatus 2 in accordance with the invention comprises a housing having parallel spaced-apart sidewalls 64, 66 and upper and lower cross plates 63, 70. The sidewalls and cross plates are advantageously formed as separate parts, as indicated, to permit assembly of the various parts of the apparatus described below. A center plate 68 is mounted on, and extends generally upwardly and rearwardly (see FIG. 9) from the upper cross plate 70. I

' An electric motor 72 is mounted between the sidewalls 64, 66 beneath the cross plates 70 and has a leftwardly extending (as viewed in FIG. output shaft 74 which extends through the sideplate 64. This shaft is coupled by means of a sprocket anda chain 76 to a larger sprocket 78 on the end of a main shaft 80, the ratios of the sizes of the two sprockets being 4:1 so that during each complete revolution of the output shaft 74 of the motor, the main shaft is rotated through an angle of The controls of the motor 72 include a start switch 73 which engages a single-revolution clutch (not specifically shown) so that when the start button on the front of the housing is pressed, the shaft 74 will be driven through one revolution and the shaft 80 will be rotated through an angle of 90.

Main shaft 80 has reduced diameter ends84, 84. which are supported in bearings 82, 82' in the sidewalls 64, ,66 and adjacent sections 86, 86' of square cross sections which extend to a relatively narrow cylindrical center section 88. U- shaped keepers 90, 90' are mounted on the square portions of the shaft adjacent to the reduced diameter ends and function to retain the several subassemblies described below on the square portion of the shaft on each side of the central cylindrical section 88.

It will be apparent from FIGS. 3 and 5 that the structural components on each side of the cylindrical center portion 88 of the shaft 80 are similar to each other; in some instances the corresponding structural elements on each side of the shaft are identical while in other instances the parts are mirror images of each other. Accordingly, the description which follows will be primarily directed to the structural elements on the left hand portion of the shaft, as viewed in FIG. 5 and as shown in FIG. 4, and the same reference numerals, differentiated by prime marks, will be used for corresponding elements on the left and right-hand sides of the center cylindrical portion 88 of the shaft.

A wire carrier plate 92, FIGS. 4 and 5, is mounted on the square section 86 of the shaft 80 adjacent to, and inwardly of, the keeper 90 and has a rightwardly extending boss 94 through which the shaft extends, the opening in the boss and plate having a square cross section conforming to the cross section of the shaft so that this plate rotates with the shaft. Four arms 96a, 96b, 96c, and 96d extend generally radially from plate 92 at 90 intervals and one side of each arm is cutaway to provide a right-angle pocket 98 in which a wire holder 100 is secured by means of a fastener 101. These wire holders 100 are of any suitable rubbery material preferrably a urethane or neoprene rubber, and have transverse slots 102 extending parallel to the plate 92 which divide the outer portions of the wire holders into two separate platelike sections. Slots 104 extend at right angles to the slots 102 and are relatively enlarged at their outer ends for reception of the wires of the wire pairs loaded into the apparatus. The width of the slots 104 at their root portions should therefore be somewhat less than the diameter of the insulation of the wires of the pairs 4, 6, so that as the wires are forced into the slots, they will be resiliently gripped by the wire holders. The transverse slots 102 in each wire holder 100 is desirable for the reason that it results in the wires being held at two separate locations in the plane of the plate 92. When the wires of an individual pair are separated or split immediately prior to insertion or stuffing, into the connectors, as will be described below, it is preferable to have the wires gripped at two adjacent locations in order to decrease the possibility of their being moved out of the wire holders.

A stuffer and splitter assembly 106, FIG. 4, is disposed adjacent to wire carrier plate 92 and in surrounding relationship to the boss 94. As best shown in FIG. 5, the inner portions of this assembly are spaced from the surface of the boss by a slight amount so that the components of this assembly are permitted to oscillate as described below. The stuffer and splitter assembly comprises four stuffing and splitting stations 107a, 107b, 1070, and 107d, the structure and function of which will also be described herein below.

A relatively thin plate 108 is mounted on the square portion 86 of the shaft by means of a square central opening 110, this plate being disposed against the end of boss 94 and against the central cylindrical section 88 of the shaft 80. This plate performs the several functions of spacer plate, bearing support I for stuffer shafts 158, as an ejector for the completed electrical connections, and as a shearing or cutting member in cooperation with cutter bar 126. Plate 108 has four generally tangentially extending arms 112a, 112b, 112C and 112d which are in alignment with the previously identified arms 96a-96d of the plate 92. The edges of the arms 112 which face the direction of rotation of shaft 80 are in alignment with the slots 104 of the wire holders 100 and are contoured to form a short outwardly facing radius 114. This radius defines a pocket or guide surface for the pairs 4, 6, of wires laced into the apparatus. It will be noted from FIG. 5 that the plate 108, and its counterpart 108' are spaced apart by a distance equal substantially to the width of the center cylindrical section of the shaft 80 so that their opposed faces define a narrow slot or gap 109 (FIG. 2) which is directly in front of the operator or splicer who is making the connections. The operator, when he positions a pair of wires in the apparatus, locates the pairs in the appropriate wire holders 100, 100' and pulls the wires against the edges 114 or 114 through slot 109 and towards himself. The lacing operation can be accomplished by merely moving the wires vertically from a position above the apparatus and then pulling slightly forwardly.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a connector support arm 116 is freely mounted on the cylindrical center section 88 of the shaft so that the shaft can rotate relative to this connector sup- 7 port arm. The arm itself is generally arcuate and extends into a slot 118 in the center plate 68 of the frame. A leftwardly facing right-angle pocket 120 is provided on the end of the arm 116 and adapted to receive an individual connector, as shown,

with the upper side of the connector disposed against the end 130 of a cutter bar 126. The spacing between the end 130 of the shearing bar and the opposed supporting surface 120 of the support arm 116 should be such that the triangular portions 54, 56 of the connector are resiliently deformed by a slight amount to retain the connector in the position shown in FIG. 9.

Support arm 116 has an car 122 integral therewith which is normally disposed leftwardly of the shaft portion 88 and a spring 124 is secured at one end to this ear and at the other end to a suitable fixed location of the frame. Spring 124 normally biases the arm 116 in a counterclockwise direction and, in fact, restrains the arm against movement while the wires are being pushed into the connector. The strength of the spring is however such that the arm is permitted to be moved through a limited clockwise are as illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B and as more fully described below.

The cutter bar 126 is disposed in alignment with the support arm 116 (see FIG. 11) and has a width which is slightly less than the spacing between the opposed surfaces of the plates 108, 108'. This arm is bifurcated or slotted at its lower end to provide a pair of parallel legs 128 which straddle the lower portion of the support arm 116 and which have semicircular notches that receive the cylindrical section 88 of the shaft. Arm 126 is freely supported on shaft portion 88 but is restrained against counterclockwise movement beyond the position shown in FIG. 9 by virtue of the fact that the lower portions of the legs 128 bear against edge portions 129 of the center frame 68. It should also be noted that a heel 121 on the upper end of support arm 116 bears against an upper portion of cutter bar 126 to restrain the cutter bar against clockwise motion beyond the position shown in FIG. 9.

The splitter and stuffer assemblies 106, 106' are best shown in FIGS. 4,8, and 10. It should be noted, however, that FIG. 8 is taken off of FIG. 5 at a location such that it shows the righthand splitter and stuffer assembly 106' in order to illustrate the action of the cutter bar 126 and the connector support arm 116 in FIGS. 8A, and 8B. The component parts of the stuffer and splitter assembly shown in FIG. 8 are therefore identified by primed reference numerals but the description which follows will be directed to the left-hand splitter and stuffer assembly with unprimed reference numerals.

Each of the splitter and stuffer stations 107a107a' comprises a splitter member 132 and a stuffer member 134. The splitter comprises parallel platelike sections 136, 137 which are spaced apart and enlarged at their inner ends. Aligned openings 138 in the inner ends of these members freely receive a shaft 158 while the outer ends of the arms are directed laterally and secured to each other by a transverse projection 144 on the arm 136. It will be understood that a suitable fastening means will be used to secure the ends of the arms together and that this part is made in two sections for assembly purposes. The transverse projection 144 on the arm 136 and the edge of the arm 137 define a surface 141 which slopes in two directions from the end of the arm 137 to the end of the arm 136 and from the remote side of the arm, as viewed in FIG. 10, to the upper side. These slopes on the end of the arm define an apex or point 148 which moves against the wire pair during a wire-splitting operation and progressively forces the wires of the pair apart as the arm moves between the pair. Ears are provided on the arm section 136, 137 and are slotted as shown at 142 for reception of a pin 155 mounted in the stuffer member 134.

The stuffer 134 comprises an arm having a width adapted to be received between the opposed surfaces of the arms 136, 137 of the splitter and the opening 150 through which the shaft 158 extends. The splitter, unlike the stuffer, is secured to the shaft 158 by a pin 151 so that it oscillates with the shaft 158 as will be described below. An ear 152 extends from the body portion of the stuffer adjacent to the opening 150 and the previously identified pin 155 is mounted in an opening 154 in this ear, the ends of the pin extending beyond the laterally facing surfaces of the stuffer so that they will be received in the slots 142 of both parts 136, 137 of the splitter.

The upper portion of the stuffer, as viewed in FIG. 10, is bifurcated and has relatively wide platelike ends 60, 62 the outwardly facing edges 156 of which are contoured with a radius substantially equal to the radius of the wires. It is these edges of the stuffer which move the wires through the slits in the connector and into the slots of the metallic connector members as briefly described above.

At each of the stuffer and splitter stations l07a-107b, the stuffer and splitter are assembled to each other on a shaft 158 with the body portion of the stuffer disposed between the plate section 136, 137 of the splitter. The ends 60, 62 of the stuffer will then be disposed on each side of the cross piece 144 of the splitter and the surfaces 156 of the stuffer will normally be slightly beyond the apex 148 of the splitter as shown in FIG. 8.

During the operating cycle, these two members move relative to, and independently of, each other as will be explained below. The shafts, specifically identified as 158a-158d in FIGS. 7 and 8, on which the stuffer and splitter of each stuffing and splitting station 107a-107d are mounted have reduced ends 160 which are received in holes 162 in the plate 108. These shafts extend through openings 164 in plate 92 spaced around the axis of main shaft 80 at 90 intervals and extend leftwardly, as viewed in FIG. 5, beyond the leftwardly facing surface of the plate 92. Arms 168a-168d are fixed to the projecting ends 166 of the shaft by suitable pins 169 and cam followers or rollers 170a-170d are provided on the ends of these arms. These cam followers are received in a confined cam track 172 (see FIG. 7) on the rightwardly facing surface of the sideplate 64. The contour of the cam track 172 is such that the shafts 158a-l58d are oscillated, at certain times, about their own axes to actuate the stuffers and splitters while the stuffer and splitter assembly 106 is revolving as a unit around the axis of the main shaft 80. The cam track 172 has irregularities 174, 176 which cause these oscillations.

DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION The operation of the disclosed embodiment can be understood from the following remarks taken in conjunction with the timing diagram, FIG. 20, which describes the positions and movements of the parts during the operating cycle. At the beginning of the cycle, the parts will be in position of FIGS. 2, 5, 7, 8, and 9. A wire pair 6a from the cable end 10 will be held in the wire holder of the arm 960', will extend axially past the plate 108', and forwardly through the slot 109.

pairs'4a, and 4d from the end of cable section 8, positions the pair 4a in the wire holder mounted on the arm 96a and positions the pair 4d in the wire holder mounted in the arm 96d of the wire holder plate 92. The operator laces the pair 40 through the apparatus so that the ends of these wires extend parallel to the ends of the wires of the pair 6a between the arms 112a, 112a. He also laces the pair 4d past the arm 112d of the plate l08'and through the slot 109 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 11. He then closes a suitable switch as by pressing the start button as shown in FIG. 2 to engage the single-revolution clutch of the motor 72 and, through the 4:1 ratio of the sprockets on the shaft, causes the shaft 80 to be rotated through an angle of 90 at substantially constant velocity. It is during this 90ofrotation of this shaft 80, the wire carrier plate 92, 92, and the plate 108, 108'jthat the trimming,

' splitting, and stuffing operations are carried out.

During initial rotation of the shaft 80, the cutter 126 remains stationary and the arms 112a, 112a push the pairs 4a, 6a in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 9, until the righthand sides of the wires bear against the edge 131 of the cutter bar 126.After the shaft 80 has rotated through anangle of about 17, the wires will be pressed against the edge 131 of the cutter bar and the cutter bar will be pushed through a slight clockwise arc until the right-hand side of the upper end of the cutter bar moves against the edge portions 178 of the center frame plate 68. These edges of the center frame plate function as a stop preventing further clockwise movement of the cutter bar so that upon continued rotation of the plates 108, 108 the arms 112a, 1120 of these plates will move relatively past the edge 131 of the cutter bar resulting in a shearingof the wires of the two pairs in the planes of the sides of the plates 108, 108'. It will be apparent from FIG. 9A that during this clockwise movement of the cutter bar 126, the connector support arm 116 is also moved in a clockwise direction by virtue of its being pushedby thecutter bar at its'heel portion 121. The connector will, of course, also be carried along with the connector support arm. 1 16 during this interval.

While the cutter bar is moving through the clockwise are described above, the splitters 132a, 132a movefrom the position of FIG.'8 to the position of FIG. 8A to separate the wires of each pair and locate them in alignment with the slits in the connector. It will be'recalled that the splitters 132a, and 132a are freely mounted on the shafts 158a, 158a so that oscillation of these shafts does not affect these splitters. The movement of the splitters is brought about by the shafts 158b, 158k as they pass the irregularities 176 in the cam tracks 172, 172' of the side plates. The cam followers 170b, 170b cause the arms 168b, 168b to swing thereby oscillating the shafts 158b, 158b' through a slight arc. The movement of these shafts causes the stuffers 134b, 134b to be swung through an equal arc and the motion of these stuffers is transmitted by the pins 155b, l55b to the splitters 132a, 132a. In FIG. 8A, the cam follower and arm 16811 which causes the motion of the splitter 132a are shown in phantom lines to clarify this point. Upon further rotation of the shaft 80 the irregularity 176 in the cam 7 track returns the splitters to their initial position as shown in the timing diagram and in FIGS. 1 1-14.

It will be noted that the connecting device 28 is supported by the support arm 116 during the stuffing operation and that this support arm, in' turn, is held in position by the spring 124. The stufiing operation does not require an extremely high force with a properly designed connector device and the spring 124 is fully adequate to hold the arms 116 against movement during stufiing. It should also be noted that the arm 116 is supporting the connector only against the inserting forces of the stuffers which forces are transmitted by shafts 158a, 158a; the arm 116 does not support the connecting device against the force imposed by the arms 112a, 112a of plates 108, 108 during the wire stuffing operation.

As is apparent from the timing diagram, FIG. 20, after about 45 of rotation of the shaft 80, the wires will have been trimmed and stuffed into the connector and the connector will be held in the pocket of the connector support arm by the end portion of the cutter arm 126. The ends of the arms 112a, 112a will, by this time, be against the side of the connector as shown in FIG. 14 and will push the connector through a further clockwise arc. The connector in turn, being in the pocket 120 will push the support arm 116 through a further clockwise arc as is apparent from FIGS. 9A and 9B. The cutter bar 126 will, however, come to rest against the leftwardly facing edges 178 of the center plate and be prevented from further clockwise movement.

As the connector is pushed, during this final stage of the operating cycle, its lower side as viewed stage of the operating cycle, its lower side as viewed in FIGS. 9A, and 98, moves .over the arcuate edge of the two spaced-apart sections of the center plate on each side of the slot 118 so that the connector is gradually cammed outwardly from the pocket I20 of the support arm 116. Immediately after the connector is moved outwardly and out of the pocket, it drops behind the applicator and carries with it the now connected two pairs of wires. At this stage of the operating cycle, the support arm 116 and the cutter bar 126 return to their nonnal positions under the influence of the spring 124. During this reset interval, the heel 121 of the support arm 116 moves against the cutter bar 126 and the two members pivot in unison until the lower end 128 of the cutter bar 126 comes to rest against the edge 129 of the center plate 68. This injection of the completed connection between the corresponding wires of the pairs 4a and 6a takes place at the end of the 90 of rotation of the shaft 80 so that after resetting of the arms 116, 126, the shaft comes to rest.

At the end of the operating cycle, the pair 4d which was positioned in the wire holder 100 of the arm 96d of the wire holder plate 92 will be located at the top of the apparatus and the ends of the wires of this pair will extend forwardly through the gap 109 between the opposed surfaces of the arms 112d, 112d of plates 108, 108. During the next operating cycle, the operator will select two pairs of wires from the end of cable section 10, which is on his right, and will position one of these pairs in the wire holder of arms 96d and the other pair in the wire holder mounted on arm 960 which will be directly in front of the operator. The step of selecting the pairs from the cable section 10 can be carried out during rotation of the shaft 80 since the operator is otherwise unoccupied.

The invention presents many substantial advantages, most of which will be apparent from a reading of the foregoing specification. Where the invention is utilized in the splicing to telephone cables, as in the instant embodiment, it is apparent that the wires in the cables can be handled very rapidly by the operator or lineman so that a high production rate of completed electrical connections between pairs of wires in the cable ends can be achieved. A connector in accordance with the invention can be made extremely small particularly where, as in the disclosed embodiment, two metallic connectors are provided in one insulating body to connect corresponding wires of two pairs of wires to each other. The force required to insert the wires into the connector is relatively light although an excellent electrical connection is achieved by virtue of the fact that the ears 40 on the ends of the metallic connector members are resiliently urged into the wires with a strong spring force.

From a time and motion standpoint, that is, from the handling standpoint of the wires, the invention is advantageous in that the necessity of having the lineman trim the excess scrap from the wires in a separate motion prior to forming the electrical connections is eliminated. Furthermore, the wires are handled as pairs and the linemen need not differentiate between two wires of a pair when he places them in an apparatus. A further significant feature is that each time the lineman reaches to one cable end or the other cable end, he selects two pairs of wires from that cable end and places them in'the apparatus. He does not, during each operating cycle, reach towards each of the cable ends in two separate motions to select the pair of each cable end. This elimination of one of the pair selection motions contributes further to the high production'rates achievable in cable-splicing methods in accordance with the instant invention.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only.

lclaim:

1. Apparatus for connecting the individualv wires in the proximate ends of two cable sections to each other, said apparatus being adapted to be located between said cable ends, said apparatus comprising:

an indexible shaft,

at least two separately operable instrumentalities for connecting two wires to each other, said instrumentalities being-mounted on said shaft at equally spaced angular intervals, each of said instrumentalities being adapted to receive at least one wire from each cable and,

said instrumentalities including wire-holding means, said wire holding means being adapted to hold wires extending from said cable ends prior to, and during, actuation of said instrumentalities, and

actuating means for actuating said instrumentalities alternately and for indexing said shaft whereby, first wires from one of said cable ends can be positioned in each of said instrumentalities and upon actuating a first one of said instrumentalities, one of said first wires will be connected to a wire in said first instrumentality which was positioned during the preceding cycle, and upon indexing of said shaft, additional wires from the other cable end can be positioned in each of said instrumentalities, and upon subsequent actuation of the second instrumentality, one of said additional wires will be connected to a remaining one ofsaid first wires.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein four of said instrumentalities are provided at 90 intervals on said shaft.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said instrumentalities is effective to connect each wire of a pair of wires to each wire of another pair of wires, whereby a pair of wires in one cable end is connected to a pair of wires in the other cable end during each operating cycle.

4. Apparatus for splicing a first cable'to a second cable, each of said cables containing a plurality of pairs of conductors, said apparatus comprising:

frame means,

first and second connecting instrumentalities, mounted adjacent to each other on said frame means, each of said instrumentalities being capable, upon actuation, of connecting the corresponding wires of two pairs of wires to each other,

means in each of said instrumentalities for holding two pairs of wires preparatory to actuation of said instrumentalities, and

means for actuating said first and second instrumentalities alternately whereby, upon loading said first and second instrumentalities with second and third pairs from said first cable and actuating said first instrumentality said second pair is connected to a first pair which was previously loaded into said first instrumentality, and upon thereafter loading said first and second instrumentalities with fourth and fifth pairs from said second cable, and actuating said second instrumentality, said fourth pair is connected to said third pair.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including indexible shaft means, said instrumentalities being mounted on said shaft means at equal angular intervals, said actuating means being effective to index said shaft means by an amount equal to the spacing between said instrumentalities during each operating cycle.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said instrumentalities comprises supporting means for supporting aconneeting device means, and means for electrically engaging said wires with said connecting device means.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said instrumentalities comprises conductor-trimming means for trimming end portions of said conductors of said pairs concomitantly with the operation of connecting said pairs to each other.

8. Apparatus for splicing a first cable to a second cable, each of said cables containing a plurality of pairs of conductors, said cables being in substantial axial alignmentwith their ends proximate to each other, said apparatus comprising:

at least two connecting instrumentalities, each of said instrumentalities being capable, upon actuation, of con necting the corresponding wires of two pairs of wires to each other each of said instrumentalities including pair-holding means for holding a pair of wires preparatory to actuation of said instrumentalities,

mounting means for mounting said instrumentalities between the ends of said cables, said mounting means including'an indexible shaft extending parallel to the axes of said cables, said instrumentalities being disposed at equally spaced angular intervals around the axis of said shaft, and

actuating means for actuating the one of said instrumentalities which is convenient to the ends of said cables and for indexing said shaft whereby, said cables are spliced by repetitive operating cycles during each of which an operator selects two pairs from one of said cables and thereafter actuates said apparatus to connect one of the selected pairs to a previously selected pair held in the said instrumentality which is convenient to said ends of said cables.

9. Apparatus asset forth in claim 8 wherein four connecting instrumentalities are provided.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 including conductor trimming means effective to trim conductors held in said pair holding means.

11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein each of said instrumentalities comprises supporting means for supporting a connecting device means, and engaging means for electrically engaging said wires with said connecting device means.

12. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein said engaging means comprises means for stuffing said conductors into said connecting device means, said connecting device means having wire-receiving slots adapted to receive, and make electrical contact with, said wires.

13. Apparatus for electrically connecting an associated pair of conductors to a connecting device, said connecting device being adapted to receive parallel spaced-apart portions of said conductors upon movement of said parallel spaced-apart portions laterally of their axes towards said connecting device, said apparatus comprising:

supporting and holding means for supporting said connecting device and said portions of said conductors in parallel relationship to each other,

splitter means movable between said portions of said conductors to space said conductors apart,

moving means movable relatively against said conductors and towards said connecting device, and

actuating means for sequentially actuating said splitter means and said moving means whereby, 

1. Apparatus for connecting the individual wires in the proximate ends of two cable sections to each other, said apparatus being adapted to be located between said cable ends, said apparatus comprising: an indexible shaft, at least two separately operable instrumentalities for connecting two wires to each other, said instrumentalities being mounted on said shaft at equally spaced angular intervals, each of said instrumentalities being adapted to receive at least one wire from each cable and, said instrumentalities including wire-holding means, said wire holding means being adapted to hold wires extending from said cable ends prior to, and during, actuation of said instrumentalities, and actuating means for actuating said instrumentalities alternately and for indexing said shaft whereby, first wires from one of said cable ends can be positioned in each of said instrumentalities and upon actuating a first one of said instrumentalities, one of said first wires will be connected to a wire in said first instrumentality which was positioned during the preceding cycle, and upon indexing of said shaft, additional wires from the other cable end can be positioned in each of said instrumentalities, and upon subsequent actuation of the second instrumentality, one of said additional wires will be connected to a remaining one of said first wires.
 2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein four of said instrumentalities are provided at 90* intervals on said shaft.
 3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said instrumentalities is effective to connect each wire of a pair of wires to each wire of another pair of wires, whereby a pair of wires in one cable end is connected to a pair of wires in the other cable end during each operating cycle.
 4. Apparatus for splicing a first cable to a second cable, each of said cables containing a plurality of pairs of conductors, said apparatus comprising: frame means, first and second connecting instrumentalities, mounted adjacent to each other on said frame means, each of said instrumentalities being capable, upon actuation, of connecting the corresponding wires of two pairs of wires to each other, means in each of said iNstrumentalities for holding two pairs of wires preparatory to actuation of said instrumentalities, and means for actuating said first and second instrumentalities alternately whereby, upon loading said first and second instrumentalities with second and third pairs from said first cable and actuating said first instrumentality said second pair is connected to a first pair which was previously loaded into said first instrumentality, and upon thereafter loading said first and second instrumentalities with fourth and fifth pairs from said second cable, and actuating said second instrumentality, said fourth pair is connected to said third pair.
 5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including indexible shaft means, said instrumentalities being mounted on said shaft means at equal angular intervals, said actuating means being effective to index said shaft means by an amount equal to the spacing between said instrumentalities during each operating cycle.
 6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said instrumentalities comprises supporting means for supporting a connecting device means, and means for electrically engaging said wires with said connecting device means.
 7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein each of said instrumentalities comprises conductor-trimming means for trimming end portions of said conductors of said pairs concomitantly with the operation of connecting said pairs to each other.
 8. Apparatus for splicing a first cable to a second cable, each of said cables containing a plurality of pairs of conductors, said cables being in substantial axial alignment with their ends proximate to each other, said apparatus comprising: at least two connecting instrumentalities, each of said instrumentalities being capable, upon actuation, of connecting the corresponding wires of two pairs of wires to each other each of said instrumentalities including pair-holding means for holding a pair of wires preparatory to actuation of said instrumentalities, mounting means for mounting said instrumentalities between the ends of said cables, said mounting means including an indexible shaft extending parallel to the axes of said cables, said instrumentalities being disposed at equally spaced angular intervals around the axis of said shaft, and actuating means for actuating the one of said instrumentalities which is convenient to the ends of said cables and for indexing said shaft whereby, said cables are spliced by repetitive operating cycles during each of which an operator selects two pairs from one of said cables and thereafter actuates said apparatus to connect one of the selected pairs to a previously selected pair held in the said instrumentality which is convenient to said ends of said cables.
 9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein four connecting instrumentalities are provided.
 10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 including conductor trimming means effective to trim conductors held in said pair holding means.
 11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein each of said instrumentalities comprises supporting means for supporting a connecting device means, and engaging means for electrically engaging said wires with said connecting device means.
 12. Apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein said engaging means comprises means for stuffing said conductors into said connecting device means, said connecting device means having wire-receiving slots adapted to receive, and make electrical contact with, said wires.
 13. Apparatus for electrically connecting an associated pair of conductors to a connecting device, said connecting device being adapted to receive parallel spaced-apart portions of said conductors upon movement of said parallel spaced-apart portions laterally of their axes towards said connecting device, said apparatus comprising: supporting and holding means for supporting said connecting device and said portions of said conductors in parallel relationship to each other, splitter mEans movable between said portions of said conductors to space said conductors apart, moving means movable relatively against said conductors and towards said connecting device, and actuating means for sequentially actuating said splitter means and said moving means whereby, said portions of said conductors spaced apart and moved into said connecting device.
 14. Apparatus as set forth in claim 13 including wire-trimming means for trimming end portions of said conductors prior to movement thereof into said connecting device.
 15. Apparatus for electrically connecting the corresponding conductors of two pairs of conductors to each other in separate electrical connections, said pairs extending axially towards each other, the connections between said conductors being effected by means of connector device means, said connector device means having two electrically separate side-by-side metallic connectors each of which is adapted to receive one conductor from each of said pairs upon relative lateral movement of said conductors towards said connector device means, said apparatus comprising: connector-device-holding means for holding said connector device means in parallel relationship to said pairs, pair-holding means at each end of said apparatus for holding said pairs, two pair splitter means, each pair splitter means being movable between the conductors of one of said pairs held in one of said pair holding means to separate said conductors of each pair and to align one conductor of each pair with one of said metallic connectors preparatory to relative movement of said conductors relatively towards said metallic connectors, and means for moving said conductors relatively towards said metallic connectors of said connecting device means to engage said conductors with said connectors and establish electrical contact between said conductors and said connectors.
 16. Apparatus as set forth in claim 15 including pair-trimming means for trimming end portions of said pairs concomitantly with movement of said conductors towards said connector device means.
 17. Apparatus as set forth in claim 16 wherein said trimming means comprises an opening means intermediate the ends of said apparatus, said opening means extending transversely of the axes of said pairs, and cutter bar means movable into said opening whereby upon positioning said pairs in said holding means with their end portions extending through said opening means, and upon movement of said cutter bar means into said opening, said pairs are trimmed by said cutter bar means in cooperation with the sides of said opening. 